NEWPORT, Ark. (KAIT) – A judge is looking for another way to fund courthouse renovations.

Jackson County voters chose not to pass a 0.75% sales tax on November 5. This tax would have been used for many improvements to the Jackson County Courthouse.

“Of course we’re disappointed, I know it’s hard for people and I understand,” said Jackson County Judge Jeff Phillips.

The judge said the courthouse was already being renovated.

“The new storm windows on the inside should, I think, help us a lot because we won’t lose as much heat. So that’s encouraging,” he said. “We are in the process of having our windows done and, as I said, it was thanks to the grant. So everything outside was done through a grant,” he said.

But the judge said he still plans to find funds to make improvements.

“I’m really concerned about our disability and I really want to know what money we can use to try to get this and maybe the toilet,” he said. “They are now accessible to people with disabilities, but I wish they were more accessible to people with disabilities.”

The judge said it would all start at the Quorum Court meeting.

“That’s when we usually talk about, you know, good feedback or anything that’s good for the county that we came into,” he said. We’ll talk about it a little bit, but really we’ll need a finance committee and review everything. And before you even think about doing anything else, just review the numbers. Right now we are working on the budget so once we finish this work it will help us see how much money we will have for certain improvements,” he said.

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